HELSINKI COMMISSION HEARING: ADVANCING U.S. INTERESTS THROUGH THE OSCE

(Washington) - The United States Helsinki Commission will hold a hearing to examine how the U.S. can best utilize the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to advance its political, security and humanitarian interests.

Advancing U.S. Interests through the OSCE

Wednesday, September 15, 2004

10:00 AM – 12:00Noon

334 CannonHouseOfficeBuilding

Witnesses:

The Honorable A. Elizabeth Jones, Assistant Secretary of State for European andEurasian Affairs

The Honorable Stephen G. Rademaker, Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control

The Honorable Michael G. Kozak, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy,Human Rights, and Labor

The OSCE has been a pioneer in defining an integrated approach to security, one in which human rights and economic well-being are as key to a nation’s stability as are traditional military forces.It remains not only the largest trans-Atlantic organization, but the one with the broadest definition of security.The OSCE has also created the most innovative habits of dialogue and collective action of any multilateral organization in the world.

The focus of the hearing will be how the OSCE can be used most effectively to highlight and advance the interests of the United States.Among the subjects to be covered will be objectives for the December meeting of Foreign Ministers in Sofia; recent high-impact security initiatives; expectations for the upcoming Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in Warsaw; and refining and strengthening the OSCE.

An un-official transcript will be available on the Helsinki Commission's web site at http://www.csce.gov within 24 hours of the hearing.

The United States Helsinki Commission, an independent federal agency, by law monitors and encourages progress in implementing provisions of the Helsinki Accords. The Commission, created in 1976, is composed of nine Senators, nine Representatives and one official each from the Departments of State, Defense and Commerce.